Dacorum & Tring Road Runners swoop to Waddesdon Manor victory

Dacorum & Tring AC’s Road Runners came away with an armful of silverware from the Waddesdon Manor 5k race – an event which also doubled as the club’s 5k road championships.
Dacorum & Tring ACs Road Runners won a hatful of medals at the Waddesdon Manor 5k race. Picture (c) Barry CorneliusDacorum & Tring ACs Road Runners won a hatful of medals at the Waddesdon Manor 5k race. Picture (c) Barry Cornelius
Dacorum & Tring ACs Road Runners won a hatful of medals at the Waddesdon Manor 5k race. Picture (c) Barry Cornelius

Alex Eykelbosch took home the trophy for first lady home, as well as the club championship title, after crossing the line in 18th position overall in a time of 18.25; a superb performance on a hilly course – and even more impressive after her first placed finish in the inaugural Hemel 10k run three days earlier.

Alex was also part of the victorious ladies team, which won more first place medals for the club, thanks to strong runs from Ania Gabb (19.57), who also won a medal for finishing third; Sam Fawcett (20.42), fourth senior lady; and Kelly Du Buisson (21.19) sixth senior lady.

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First home for the men was Jamie Marlow, who finished sixth overall in a time of 17.13. Not far behind was Rhys Rowlands, 14th overall in 17.55, fast enough for second U17 man. Together with Duncan Hamilton (18.39) and Matt Hamilton (18.59), the quartet picked up the prize for third men’s team.

The Dacorum & Tring ladies' marathon relay team came first and won £2,000 at the  London Run 4 x 1/4 Marathon Team RelayThe Dacorum & Tring ladies' marathon relay team came first and won £2,000 at the  London Run 4 x 1/4 Marathon Team Relay
The Dacorum & Tring ladies' marathon relay team came first and won £2,000 at the London Run 4 x 1/4 Marathon Team Relay

Also in the medals was Samantha Sullivan, who finished first in the VF40 category with her time of 22.24.

In all, the club had 53 runners taking part in the race, with their purple and green shirts making up nearly a quarter of the entire field.

Elsewhere, the Road Runners had two relay teams out at the Morrisons Great Newham London Run 4 x 1/4 Marathon Team Relay – a race which gave runners the opportunity to re-live the 2012 London Games.

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In teams of four, with each member running 10.54k, the event started and finished inside the Olympic stadium, passing by the Aquatic Centre, the ArcelorMital Orbit and the waterways of Queen Elizabeth Park.

D&T’s ladies’ team, comprising Sam and Becky Fawcett, Kelly Du Buisson and Clare Hunt, finished as first ladies’ team in a time of 3.36.14 and won medals, a trophy and a combined team prize of £2,000.

The men’s team of Steven Shaw, Casper Du Buisson, Martin Kerr and Dave Stears finished a very respectable 31st overall out of 118 teams, with a combined time of 3.29.45.

Meanwhile, Sam Hawkridge ran the Dorney 10k run, sneaking in just under the hour to cross the line in 59.23 - a great time considering her trials with her knee over the past few months. She was 21st woman over the line.

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Rob Deane finished Ironman Zurich 5150, an Olympic distance triathlon in and around Lake Zurich, in 3.29.10. He completed the 1,500m swim in 50.52, the 40k bike in 1.37.27 and the 10k run in 54.40.

Jan Strachan took on the full-distance Ironman, but faced an uphill struggle in the swim; with the temperatures hovering above the 22 degree limit, the first leg of the event was declared a non-wetsuit swim, and Jan was unable to make the swim-time cutoff and was forced to withdraw before taking on her strongest events, the bike and run.

Even so, she refused to be travel back to shore by boat and finished the swim in style, accompanied by a flotilla of boats and kayaks, and, although bitterly disappointed at not being able to carry on, was happy to have completed the 3.8k swim, for her the toughest event.

Giles Leather ran the Ironman UK to raise funds for the Whoosh Charity (the Stephen Hawking School Trust), and finished in a strong 15.09.45.

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He did the 3.8k swim in 1.20.01, the 180k bike in 7.43.51 and the full marathon in 5.40.32. He said: “It was definitely not a PB race - although I got a PB by three minutes in the swim, the weather was atrocious; raining so hard you couldn’t see the buoys, and the bike and run were hilly and windy. The support was great though - it got me to the end!”

At the Cassiobury parkrun, Paul Christie and Sam Fawcett were on top form: Paul finished fifth overall in a new PB of 19.05, while Sam was 10th overall and first lady in a big new PB of 19.46.

Jack Parslow ran his first Gadebridge parkrun and was first to cross the line, in 16.41. Paddy Ashton was next, in a new PB of 20.32 (1st SM20-24), while Keith Wishart was 11th in 22.06 (1st 45-49) and Kelly Du Buisson was 12th overall and first lady in 22.11.

Michael Lamb finished in 22.28 (1st VM40-44) and Richard Stevens was next with a big new PB of 25.02.

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They were followed by Jess Tanner in 25.40 (1st SW25-29), Dave Stears in 26.13 (1st VM55-59), Calypso Phillips, with a new PB of 28.38 (1st JW15-17), Star Phillips in 30.04 (1st JW11-14), Carol MacDonald, in a new PB of 31.39, and Fay Wishart in 42.17 (1st JW10) and her mum Karen (42.20).

On hand as volunteers were run director Kirsty Russell, Meg Brooks, Claire Copperwhilte, John Jales, Danielle Kerr and Steve Russell.

At the St Albans parkrun, Richard Slack was 13th overall in a time of 19.21 and Peter Bailey completed his 81st parkrun in 31.35.

In Tring, meanwhile, Jamie Bailey finished seventh overall in a fast time of 21.37, just six seconds off his PB and was out in front in the JM11014 age group.

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Freddie Truman-Williams was next up, 14th overall in 22.25 for 2nd JM11-14. Jamie’s dad Phil took on Tring for the first time, finishing in 28.03, while his mum Kate ran with Freddie, 7 (3rd JM10), to finish in 31.57.

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